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Greening the World: The Nature Conservancy Spring Gala to Focus on Healthy Forests, Green Buildings as Key to Climate Change

Goal is to slash deforestation, which accounts for up to 25% of global carbon emissions each year

New York, NY — April 1, 2008 — Former Chairman of the Board of The Nature Conservancy, Henry M. “Hank” Paulson, and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will join leaders from the world’s top financial institutions and other corporations to fight climate change by saving the earth’s forests and promoting the global development of green buildings. 

More than 400 prominent New Yorkers will gather with Honorable Henry M. Paulson and Mayor Bloomberg in Hearst Tower on Monday, April 28^th to raise awareness about forest conservation, market-friendly ways to offset greenhouse gas emissions, and to raise more than $2 million to protect threatened forests around the world. Under Mayor Bloomberg, New York City has launched an ambitious 20-year plan to reform the city’s urban development by focusing heavily on environmentally friendly growth. Both Paulson and Mayor Bloomberg will deliver remarks at the event.

“Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge that our world faces today and emissions from deforestation and forest degradation exceed those from every car, truck, train, ship and plane in the world combined. Reducing these emissions can and must play a significant role in a comprehensive solution to climate change,” says Stephanie Meeks, acting CEO of The Nature Conservancy.

Preserving nature may be the most cost effective tool to offset large-scale emissions, the risks posed to human communities from climate change, and unplanned urban development.

Leaders from Brazil, China, and the United States will gather in Hearst Tower, Manhattan’s first occupied Gold LEED© certified office building, to experience an evening of interactive exhibitions, chat with onsite experts, and enjoy cocktails and entertainment focused on efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change through global forest protection.

The Conservancy’s Greening the World event is chaired by developer Tishman Speyer, aluminum producer Alcoa, media giant Hearst Corporation, and financial services heavyweight, Morgan Stanley.

“This evening is about more than just raising funds for conservation,” said Hearst Corporation President and CEO, Victor F. Ganzi. “It’s about influencing corporate America to apply responsible environmental stewardship as an integral part of doing business.”

“Rethinking how we both generate and use energy is a crucial step towards a sustainable business and a sustainable planet,” added Jerry I. Speyer, Chairman and CEO of Tishman Speyer, the developers of the Hearst Tower and owner of the city’s largest solar energy generation station in Manhattan. He explained that worldwide 30-40% of all primary energy is used in buildings, making the development of green buildings a critical piece in sustaining our world.

“Climate change is a critical global issue which requires leadership from every sector of society. It is all about making a commitment to our long term sustainability as a society and to our planet. This commitment to sustainability must underpin all of our decisions and actions as we work together for solutions,” said Alain Belda, Chairman and CEO of Alcoa, and Co-Chair of Greening our World.

“Morgan Stanley is committed to the environment. This is true in all aspects of our business, including how we evaluate companies, transactions and risk; how we collaborate with and serve our clients, financing partners and employees; how we conduct our own operations; and how we promote and develop new market opportunities,” affirmed John Mack, Chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley. 

Among the evening’s highlighted projects is the Conservancy’s effort to help plant one billion trees along Brazil’s Atlantic Coast to restore the decimated forest and protect the watershed of the region’s 80 million inhabitants.

The evening will also explore how the Conservancy is working in close partnership with the government of China to help design and implement a blueprint for the conservation of the country’s natural resources and environment.

Closer to home, the Conservancy will showcase the organization’s work to protect New York’s forests, help communities along the Hudson and Long Island adapt to sea level rise, and push for strong state and Federal legislation to regulate emissions.

For more information on the Greening the World event, visit nature.org/newyork.

The Nature Conservancy & Climate Change

The Nature Conservancy is tackling climate change in three ways:

1. We are mobilizing governments at all levels to enact legislation that addresses the causes of climate change.
2. We are working to create global incentives to reduce deforestation emissions through policy and partnerships. Specifically, the Conservancy is helping to catalyze a global system of financial incentives that values the carbon stored in standing tropical forest.
3. We are analyzing the impacts of global warming and seeking innovative conservation solutions that will enable natural areas to cope with and adapt to what may be unavoidable effects of climate change.

The Hearst Tower, with its distinctive triangular frame, opened in New York City in late 2006 as the city’s first occupied Gold LEED® certified office building. The 46-story, 856,000-square-foot Midtown structure is defined by vertical and horizontal energy-saving, diamond-shaped bands of bright stainless steel.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. In New York, The Nature Conservancy has helped protect more than 500,000 acres in the past 50 years. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org/newyork.